Electronic device for wireless communication system, method and storage medium

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device for a wireless communication system, and a method and a storage medium. Described are various embodiments concerning resource configuration, resources access, and sending control. In one embodiment, an electronic device for a terminal side in a wireless communication system comprises a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive resource configuration information by means of at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein the resource configuration information indicates a resource allocated in an unlicensed band for the terminal to perform uplink transmission. The resource comprises one or more resources, and the resource configuration information comprising information of one or more offset points indicating positions of the one or more resources.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communicationsystems, and specifically relates to technologies for resourceconfiguration, resource access, and transmission control.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, applications of mobile communication technology havebecome increasingly widespread, and accompanying, there are increasinglydemands for mobile data. These demands have prompted people to seekvarious improved technologies that can increase mobile data rates andthroughput. Mobile communications traditionally operate on licensedspectrums, and mobile operators try to offload part of mobile datarequirements to non-licensed spectrums by extending mobilecommunications to non-licensed spectrums. Related improved technologiesinclude 3GPP LAA (License Assisted Access), FeLAA (Further EnhancedLAA), and related technologies in the 5G New Radio (NR) system. However,non-licensed spectrums were originally used by some wirelesscommunication devices, including devices that comply with the 802.11series standards. Therefore, in the improved technologies mentionedabove, it is necessary to consider the coexistence issue of cellularwireless communication devices and original wireless communicationdevices in non-licensed spectrums.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device fora terminal in a wireless communication system. According to oneembodiment, the electronic device can comprise a processing circuitry.The processing circuitry can be configured to receive resourceconfiguration information by at least one of radio resource control(RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein the resourceconfiguration information indicates allocated resources in non-licensedspectrum for uplink transmission by the terminal. The resources compriseone or more resources, and the resource configuration informationcomprises information of one or more offsets indicating positions of theone or more resources.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device fora base station in a wireless communication system. According to oneembodiment, the electronic device comprises a processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry can be configured to transmit resourceconfiguration information by at least one of radio resource control(RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein the resourceconfiguration information indicates allocated resources in non-licensedspectrum for uplink transmission by a terminal. The resources compriseone or more resources, and the resource configuration informationcomprises information of one or more offsets indicating positions of theone or more resources.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device fora terminal in a wireless communication system. According to oneembodiment, the electronic device comprises a processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry can be configured to generate a parameter K for anumber of repetitive transmissions of a same transport block in uplink;transmit the parameter K to a Base Station (BS); and repetitivelytransmit at least one transport block by K times.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device fora base station in a wireless communication system. According to oneembodiment, the electronic device comprises a processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry can be configured to receive a parameter K for anumber of repetitive transmissions of a same transport block in uplinkfrom a terminal; and receive K repetitive transmissions of at least onetransport block from the terminal.

Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communicationmethods for a terminal side and/or a base station side.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer-readablestorage medium storing one or more instructions. In some embodiments,the one or more instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device toexecute the methods according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure relates to variousapparatus, comprising means or units for performing operations ofvarious methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

The above summary is provided to summarize some exemplary embodiments toprovide a basic understanding of various aspects of the subjectdescribed herein. Therefore, these features described above are merelyexamples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit ofthe subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspectsand advantages of the subject matter described herein will becomeapparent from the following specific embodiments described inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary electronic device for a base station sideaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary electronic device for a terminal sideaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A to 3D show exemplary resource configuration schemes accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show exemplary LBT processes according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary operation flow for initiating a device toaccess an operating channel according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an example of sharing COT accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7A shows an exemplary operation of an initiating device in the caseof sharing COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary operation of a responding device in the caseof sharing COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8A to 8C show examples in which a sender determines and performsrepetitive transmissions according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9A shows an exemplary electronic device for a sender according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9B shows an exemplary electronic device for a receiver according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A shows a first example method for repetitive transmissions by asender according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B shows a first example method for a receiver to receiverepetitive transmissions according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10C shows a second example method for repetitive transmissions by asender according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10D shows a second example method for a receiver to receiverepetitive transmissions according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example structure of a personalcomputer as an information processing device that can be adopted in anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematicconfiguration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosurecan be applied;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematicconfiguration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosurecan be applied;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematicconfiguration of a smart phone to which the technology of the presentdisclosure can be applied; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematicconfiguration of a car navigation device to which the technology of thepresent disclosure can be applied.

The embodiments described in the present disclosure are only examples,and they can have various modifications and alternative forms. It shouldbe understood that the drawings and their detailed description are notintended to limit the solutions to the specific forms disclosed, but tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative solutions thatfall within the spirit and scope of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes representative applications of various aspectssuch as the device and method according to the present disclosure. Thedescription of these examples is only for adding context and helping tounderstand the embodiments described. Therefore, it is clear to thoseskilled in the art that the embodiments described below can beimplemented without some or all of the specific details. In other cases,well-known process steps are not described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the embodiments described. Other applicationsare possible, and solutions of the present disclosure are not limited tothese examples.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood thatFIG. 1 only shows one of multiple types and possible arrangements ofwireless communication systems; features of the present disclosure canbe implemented in any of the various systems as required.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes abase station 120A and one or more terminals 110A, 110B to 110N, and thebase station and the terminals can be configured to communicate througha transmission medium. The base station 120A can be further configuredto communicate with a network 130 (for example, a core network of acellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet). Therefore, thebase station 120A can facilitate communication between the terminals110A to 110N and/or between the terminals 110A to 110N and the network130.

It should be understood that the term base station herein has the fullbreadth of its general meaning, and at least includes a wirelesscommunication station that is a part of a wireless communication systemor a radio system to facilitate communication. Examples of base stationsmay include but are not limited to the following: at least one of a BaseTransceiver Station (BTS) and a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a GSMsystem; at least one of a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and a Node B ina WCDMA system; an eNB in a LTE and a LTE-Advanced system; an AccessPoint (AP) in a WLAN and a WiMAX system; and a corresponding networknode in communication systems to be or under development (for example, agNB, an eLTE eNB, etc. in a 5G New Radio (NR) system). Part of thefunctions of the base station herein can also be implemented as anentity that has control capability on communications in D2D, M2M, andV2V communication scenarios, or as an entity that plays a role ofspectrum coordination in cognitive radio communication scenarios.

The term terminal herein has the full breadth of its usual meaning, forexample, a terminal can be a Mobile Station (MS), User Equipment (UE),etc. The terminal can be implemented as a device such as a mobile phone,a handheld device, a media player, a computer, a laptop or a tablet, oralmost any type of wireless device. In some cases, the terminal cancommunicate using multiple wireless communication technologies. Forexample, the terminal can be configured to communicate using two or moreof GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, NR, Bluetooth, etc. Insome cases, the terminal may also be configured to communicate usingonly one wireless communication technology.

In FIG. 1, the coverage area of the base station 120A may be referred toas a cell. The base station 120A and other similar base stations (notshown) that operate according to one or more cellular communicationtechnologies can provide continuous or nearly continuous communicationsignal coverage to terminals 110A to 110N and similar devices over awide geographic area. In FIG. 1, terminals 110A to 110N can receiveradio signals from neighboring base stations while receiving radiosignals from base station 120A. In some embodiments, the terminal maymaintain connections with multiple cells, for example, form a DualConnectivity with a primary base station and a secondary base station.One of the multiple cells may be used as the primary cell of theterminal, and the other cell may be used as the secondary cell of theterminal. In one embodiment, some secondary cells can operate innon-licensed spectrums.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station and theterminal can communicate through both licensed spectrums andnon-licensed spectrums. Licensed spectrums and non-licensed spectrumscan follow the definition of industry standards or follow regionalfrequency management regulations. For both licensed spectrums andnon-licensed spectrums, the base station can allocate time domain andfrequency domain resources for uplink and downlink. Generally, frequencydomain resources can be continuous or separated subcarriers; innon-licensed spectrums, frequency domain resources can also correspondto a certain bandwidth part. The time domain resources may correspond toa certain period, for example, may be a certain number of symbols, slotsor subframes. In some embodiments, the allocation of time domainresources may involve indicating a starting point, an ending point, andadditional offsets of the period. The additional offsets can increasethe flexibility of resource allocation in the time domain.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission scheme oftransport blocks may be changed so that a same transport block can berepetitively transmitted multiple times. The transmission scheme cancomplete multiple transmissions and receptions of a single transportblock in a short time, so that the transport block can be processedfaster (for example, compared to normal Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request(HARM) processing) for receiving and decoding correctly. In non-licensedspectrums, the Channel Occupancy Time (COT) of the communication deviceis generally limited, for example, is limited by the maximum value MCOT.Therefore, this transmission scheme is very useful for limited COT innon-licensed spectrums.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of high-levelsignaling (for example Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) andphysical layer signaling (for example Downlink Control Information(DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI) in a NR system) can be used forsignaling interactions (for example, for resource configuration, etc.)between a base station and a terminal.

Resource Allocation and Resource Access

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary electronic device for a base station sideaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the basestation can be used in various wireless communication systems. Theelectronic device 200 shown in FIG. 2A can include various units toimplement various embodiments according to the present disclosure. Inthis example, the electronic device 200 can include a first resourceconfiguration unit 202 and a first transceiving unit 204. In oneimplementation, the electronic device 200 can be implemented as the basestation 120A (or a part thereof) in FIG. 1, or can be implemented as adevice used to control the base station 120A or a device related to thebase station 120A (for example a controller, or a part thereof). Thevarious operations described below in conjunction with the base stationcan be implemented by the units 202 and 204 of the electronic device 200or other possible units.

In some embodiments, the first resource configuration unit 202 can beconfigured to determine resource configuration information for uplinkand downlink. The resource configuration information can be used for atleast one of a licensed spectrum and a non-licensed spectrum. Forexample, the resource configuration information can indicate allocatedresources in licensed or non-licensed spectrum for uplink transmissionby a terminal; the resource configuration information can also indicateallocated resources in licensed or non-licensed spectrum for downlinktransmission by a base station. In some embodiments, the resources mayinclude one or more resources, and the resource configurationinformation may include one or more offsets indicating positions of theone or more resources. The offsets can indicate the offset situation ofthe resources in frequency domain and/or time domain. In an embodiment,a single resource may correspond to multiple offsets, and multipleresources may correspond to a same offset, and at least one resource ofmultiple resources may correspond to one or more offsets. Wherein,multiple offsets can be set to be the same or different according toresource configuration and other requirements.

In some embodiments, the resources correspond to one or more periods,wherein at least one period has a starting point and an ending point. Inaddition to the starting point and the ending point, the resourceconfiguration information may also indicate one or more offsets relativeto the starting point of the period, as described in detail below.

In some embodiments, the first transceiving unit 204 can be configuredto transmit uplink resource configuration information to a terminal (forexample, by at least one of RRC signaling and physical layer signaling).Once the resource configuration information for downlink is determined,it can be known by the base station.

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary electronic device for a terminal sideaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the terminalcan be used in various wireless communication systems. The electronicdevice 250 shown in FIG. 2B can include various units to implementvarious embodiments according to the present disclosure. In thisexample, the electronic device 250 may include a second resourceconfiguration unit 252 and a second transceiving unit 254. In oneimplementation, the electronic device 250 can be implemented as any one(or a part of) the terminal devices 110A to 110N in FIG. 1. The variousoperations described below in conjunction with the terminal can beimplemented by the units 252 and 254 of the electronic device 250 orother possible units.

In some embodiments, the second transceiving unit 254 can be configuredto receive uplink resource configuration information from a base station(for example, by at least one of RRC signaling and physical layersignaling). The resource configuration information can indicateallocated resources in licensed spectrum or non-licensed spectrum foruplink transmission by a terminal. The resources can correspond to oneor more periods, wherein at least one period has a starting point and anending point. In addition to the starting point and the ending point,the resource configuration information may also indicate one or moreoffsets relative to the starting point of the period. Accordingly, thesecond resource configuration unit 252 can be configured to determinethe uplink resources to be used based on the resource configurationinformation.

The foregoing units are only logical modules divided according to thespecific functions they implement, and are not used to limit specificimplementations, for example, they can be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In actualimplementation, each of the foregoing units can be implemented as anindependent physical entity, or can also be implemented by a singleentity (for example, a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integratedcircuit, etc.). Wherein, processing circuitries can refer to variousimplementations of a digital circuit system, an analog circuit system,or a mixed signal (combination of analog and digital) circuit systemsthat perform functions in a computing system. Processing circuitries mayinclude, for example, circuits such as integrated circuits (ICs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), parts or circuits ofindividual processor cores, entire processor cores, individualprocessors, programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), and/or systems including multiple processors.

In wireless communication systems, there are multiple feasible methodsto configure time-frequency resources. According to whether theconfigured resource changes during a certain period of time, theresource configuration method may include, for example, known dynamicconfiguration, continuous configuration, and semi-continuousconfiguration. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the resourcesmay correspond to one or more periods, wherein at least one period has astarting point and an ending point. The starting point and the endingpoint define the time range within which the terminal and/or basestation can use corresponding resource, in the case that the startingpoint and the ending point have been determined, the time range of theresource is determined. In some embodiments, adaptability can be givento the time range of the resource, thereby increasing the flexibility ofresource configuration in time domain. In one embodiment, in addition tothe starting point and the ending point of the period, one or moreoffsets relative to the starting point can also be configured. Forexample, the resource configuration information may indicate the one ormore offsets by amounts of offset time relative to the starting point ora particular reference time. In this way, when the terminal and/or thebase station try to access a channel, it can adaptively access thechannel at the starting point or the offsets according to whether thechannel is occupied.

FIG. 3A shows an exemplary resource allocation scheme 300 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, theconfiguration scheme can be used in uplink and/or downlink; theconfiguration scheme can be used in licensed spectrum and/ornon-licensed spectrum. In FIG. 3A and the following similar figures,only the configuration of time-frequency resources in the time domain isshown, and those skilled in the art can use any appropriate manner toperform frequency domain configuration. As shown in FIG. 3A, the window301 can represent the allocated time domain resource 301, that is, theperiod 301 corresponding to the allocated time-frequency resource. Theperiod 301 has a starting point A and an ending point B. Additionally,the period 301 also has two offsets C and D (the two offsets are onlyexamples, and it is possible to have other number of offsets). In someimplementations, the offset situations of a corresponding point relativeto a reference time (for example, amounts of offset subframe, slot,symbols, etc.) can be used to represent the starting point, the endingpoint, and the offsets. In one embodiment, the duration of the periodmay also be used to implicitly indicate the ending point. If theterminal or base station expects to use the resource 301, it can be usedas an initiating device to perform CCA before at least one of thestarting point A and offsets C and D (as shown by the dashed line inFIG. 3A), so as to determine whether the operating channel can beaccessed at the corresponding point. In an embodiment, Clear ChannelAssessment (CCA) may correspond to Type 2 Listen Before Talk (LBT) (forexample, one-shot LBT) or Type 4 LBT in the NR system.

In FIG. 3A, compared to only having a starting point A, the existence ofoffsets C and D can make the initiating device to use of the configuredresources more flexible and more effective. For example, in oneembodiment, although the period 301 of the resource has been configured,the initiating device may not be ready for transmission at the startingpoint A (or offset C) or the CCA may be unsuccessful, and then theinitiating device may still access the operating channel at offsets Cand D (or offset D) and use the allocated resources during the remainingperiod of 301. FIG. 3B shows a usage example of the resource allocationscheme 300. In this example, the initiating device (terminal or basestation) expects to access the operating channel at the starting point Aand perform CCA before point A (as shown by the solid line). However,the CCA was unsuccessful, and the initiating device failed to access theoperating channel at the starting point A. After that, the initiatingdevice performs CCA again before the next offset C (as shown by thesolid line). This CCA is successful, so the initiating device can accessthe operating channel at offset C (although it fails to access atstarting point A). Compared with abandoning the use of the entire period301 because of failing to access the operating channel at the startingpoint A, the resource allocation scheme 300 and corresponding usagemethod are more flexible and efficient. On the other hand, in someembodiments, the offsets may only be arranged at limited positions inthe period 301. In this way, CCA can only be performed at limitedpositions (rather than continuously performed during the entire period301), thereby saving power consumption of the initiating device.

In the example of FIG. 3B, the ending point B of the period 301 may befixed or may be variable (for example, based on the time point of accessto the operating channel). For example, because the CCA before thestarting point A is unsuccessful causing the initiating device accessesthe operating channel later than the starting point A, the ending pointB can be postponed to B′ to compensate for the “late access”, forexample, to compensate a period 311.

The resource allocation scheme 300 in FIG. 3A may correspond to aone-time static configuration, or may correspond to a part of acontinuous or semi-continuous configuration (for example, a cycle). FIG.3C shows an exemplary resource allocation scheme 350 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The resource allocation scheme 350shows a specific example of continuous or semi-continuous configuration.In the example of FIG. 3C, multiple periods 351 to 353 of the resourcehave been configured. Each period 351 to 353 can be understood similarlyto the period 301 in FIG. 3A. For example, each period has a startingpoint and an ending point and offsets. In addition, in FIG. 3C, aplurality of periods 351 to 353 can be configured to have a cycle T, forexample.

FIG. 3D shows a usage example of the resource allocation scheme 350. Thechannel access in each period in this example can be understoodsimilarly to FIG. 3B. For example, for the period 351, the initiatingdevice (terminal or base station) performs CCA twice and accesses theoperating channel at the first offset. Optionally, the period 351 may becompensated for corresponding period 361 (for example, equal to theoffset between the first offset and the starting point). For the period362, the initiating device performs CCA three times and accesses theoperating channel at the second offset. Optionally, the period 352 maybe compensated for corresponding period 362 (for example, equal to theoffset between the second offset and the starting point). For the period363, the initiating device only performs CCA once and accesses theoperating channel at the starting point. Similar to the resourceallocation scheme 300, the resource allocation scheme 350 and thecorresponding usage are also more flexible and efficient.

It should be understood that the number of offsets in a single periodcan be not limited, for example 2, 3, 4, etc. These offsets can bedistributed during the entire period or only in the earlier part of theperiod. In one embodiment, these offsets are scattered so that theinitiating device will not continuously monitor the channel during COT.

The manner of resource allocation according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure can be represented in any appropriate manner. Forexample, each point related to the period can be represented in anabsolute manner or a relative manner. According to one manner, theactual time domain position (for example, subframe, slot, symbol, etc.)of a corresponding point may be used to represent the starting point,the ending point, and the offsets, for example, n, m, n1, and n2 in FIG.3A. According to another manner, the offset (for example, amounts ofsubframe, slot, symbol of the offset, etc.) of a corresponding pointrelative to a reference time (for example, SFN=0, the slot or symbolposition when the terminal receives specific signaling (for exampleuplink scheduling information), etc.) can be used to represent thestarting point, the ending point and the offsets. In some cases, theending point and/or the offsets can also be represented by a time domainoffset relative to the starting point.

The following table shows an example indicating manner of the resourceconfiguration 300. As shown in the table, in Example 1, the startingpoint, the ending point, and the offsets are all expressed by theoffsets (offset0 to offset3) relative to the reference time tr. InExample 2, the starting point is still represented by the offset(offset0) relative to the reference time tr, and the ending point andthe offsets are represented by the offsets (offset11 to offset31)relative to the starting point, respectively. The difference betweenExample 3 and Example 2 is that, in Example 3, a unit offset delta isdefined, and each offset is represented as offsetting an integermultiple of the delta relative to the starting point. The resourceconfiguration 350 can be similarly represented. Each period 351 to 353can be represented similarly to the period 301. In one embodiment, formultiple periods 351 to 353, only the number of offsets and the offsetssituation may be limited by the offset information, and the offsetinformation is applicable to all periods. In some cases, the offsetinformation for different periods may also be different.

TABLE 1 Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Starting n = tr + offset0 n = tr +offset0 n = tr + offset0 Point A Ending m = tr + offset1 m = n +offset10 m = n + offset10 Point B Offset C n1 = tr + offset2 n1 = n +offset20 n1 = n + delta Offset D n2 = tr + offset3 n2 = n + offset30 n1= n + 2 × deltaIn an embodiment of the present disclosure, in downlink, the basestation itself knows the resource configuration; in uplink, the basestation can use at least one of high-level signaling (for example RRCsignaling) and physical layer signaling (for example NR DCI) to transferthe resource configuration information to the terminal. In someembodiments, all information related to the period in the resourceconfiguration, including the starting point, the ending point, and theoffsets, may be transferred only by high-level signaling. At this time,when initial configuration and reconfiguration (for examplereconfiguration of any one of the starting point, the ending point, orthe offsets) are required, high-level signaling needs to be transferred.In one embodiment, the offsets can also be activated by physical layersignaling. That is, when offsets of the period are configured byhigh-level signaling, the offsets will not be automatically activated.The offsets are activated only when activated by physical layersignaling. In other embodiments, the starting point and the ending pointrelated to the period in the resource configuration may be transferredby high-layer signaling, and the offsets related to the period may betransferred by physical layer signaling. Since the physical layersignaling can be transferred quickly, transferring the offsetsinformation by it, the offsets of the period can be configured andupdated more flexibly. At this time, the high-level signaling can beresponsible for the initial configuration and reconfiguration of thestarting point and ending point of the period; the physical layersignaling can be responsible for the initial configuration andreconfiguration of the offsets of the period. In some other embodiments,the starting point, the ending point, and offsets information of theperiod may be transferred only by physical layer signaling. In somecases, while following the signaling usage manner in the foregoingembodiment, basic parameters such as the use cycle and transmissionpower of the resource can still be configured by high-level signaling.

Various types of communication devices complying with different wirelesscommunication standards each can use non-licensed spectrum forcommunication. For example, these communication devices may include eNB,gNB, UE in LTE or NR system, and AP and MS in WLAN system, and the like.In terms of using channels in non-licensed spectrum, there will becompetition among communication devices in different systems. In somecases, the base station and the terminal can access non-licensed channel(hereinafter also referred to as operating channel) in a similar manneras in licensed spectrum based on their own communication requirements.In some cases, in order to enable most communication devices innon-licensed spectrum to use non-licensed channel in a fair manner, thebase station and the terminal can monitor operating channel beforeaccessing the channel (for example, through the LBT manner), and accessthe operating channel only if ascertain the channel may be free.

In the LBT manner, the device that first transmits a message to theother party can be referred to the initiating device, and thecorresponding party can be referred to the responding device. Forexample, if the base station transmits a downlink message first, thebase station is the initiating device and the corresponding terminal isthe responding device; the opposite situation can be similarlyunderstood. For the case where a base station/terminal is used as theinitiating device or the responding device, the LBT process described inthe present disclosure can be applied.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an exemplary LBT process according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. In FIG. 4A, there is a fixed frame cycle, andthe fixed frame cycle includes Channel Occupancy Time (COT) and idleperiod. As is known, this type of LBT may be referred to as Frame-BasedEquipment (FBE) LBT. If a terminal or base station expects to use theoperating channel during COT, it can act as an initiating device toperform the LBT process. For example, the initiating device can monitorthe operating channel during the previous idle period adjacent to theCOT (as indicated by the solid line CCA in FIG. 4A), and when it isdetermined that the operating channel is not occupied, use the operatingchannel during the COT period. One example of determining whether achannel is occupied may be referred to as Channel Clear Assessment(CCA), which may be based on the signal energy or power situationmonitored on the operating channel. For example, in the case that themonitored signal energy or power is lower than a certain threshold, itcan be considered that the operating channel is not occupied (or said tobe idle, at this time the CCA is successful). In some embodiments, ifthe CCA before the COT is unsuccessful, the initiating device maycontinue the CCA later at one or more offsets relative to the COT (asindicated by the dashed line CCA in FIG. 4A).

In FIG. 4A, channel monitoring is performed during idle period. If a CCAindicates that the channel is idle before the COT, the initiating devicecan use the operating channel during the COT until the COT ends. Afterthe COT ends, the device will stop using the operating channel. At thistime, if the device still expects to use the operating channel, it mustperform CCA again in idle time. In some embodiments, the foregoingmonitoring process may be performed through one-shot LBT. One simpleone-shot LBT corresponds to a time of 25 microseconds. Specifically, 16microseconds plus one or more periods of 9 microseconds constitute aso-called one-shot. In some cases, a more complicated LBT process can beperformed, for example, type 4 LBT (containing contention window andrandom backoff counter) in NR system.

In FIG. 4B, there is no fixed frame period, but COTs and idle periodsstill appear alternately in time domain. As is known, this type of LBTmay be referred to as a Load-Based Equipment (LBE) LBT. In LBE LBT, COTis driven by the communication load of an initiating device, and thetransmission demand of the initiating device causes the appearance ofCOT. Moreover, the duration of COT depends on the transmission volume,as long as the COT does not exceed the maximum allowable MCOT. If thetransmission demand still exists after MCOT, the next COT can be drivenafter idle period. Different from FIG. 4A, in LBE LBT, because theappearance of COT is not fixed in time domain, the initiating device canmonitor the operating channel for CCA as long as transmission is needed,and use the operating channel when the CCA is successful, until the endof the transmission or MCOT is reached. In the example of FIG. 4B, thechannel monitoring method in FIG. 4A can also be used, which will not berepeated here.

During COT, the premise that an initiating device can use an operatingchannel is that corresponding resources have been allocated for theinitiating device. Under this premise, as long as the possibility ofchannel occupation (maybe due to some reason, for example occupationfrom other communication systems) can be ruled out before the arrival ofCOT, the initiating device can use the allocated resources. In someembodiments, if the CCA before COT is unsuccessful, the initiatingdevice is allowed to continue the CCA during a part or the entire COTand use the operating channel during the remaining COT if the CCA issuccessful. In some cases, COT can be expanded accordingly orappropriately according to the time occupied by CCA. In someembodiments, the initiating device may also share the COT with theresponding device. Specifically, when the initiating device temporarilyends transmission, the remaining COT can be shared with the respondingdevice. When the responding device ends transmission, the initiatingdevice can also resume using the operating channel. The sharing processcan be deduced like this.

In some embodiments, for downlink FBE frame structure (that is, a basestation acts as an initiating device), the base station can beconfigured to transmit some fixed signaling or signals during COT. Inthis way, on one hand, the fixed signaling or signal can be matched withthe fixed COT; on the other hand, in downlink, there are fewer devicesthat simultaneously access the operating channel with the base station,and the CCA of the base station is easier to succeed (ensure to be ableto transmit these signaling or signals). Therefore, in one embodiment,for downlink FBE frame structure, the base station can be configured totransmit synchronization signals (for example, SS/PBCH in NR systems)and/or reference signals (for example, discovery reference signal DRS inNR systems) during COT. Accordingly, the terminal can be configured toreceive synchronization signals and/or reference signals during COT. Atthis time, in the case that the base station and the terminal share theCOT, the terminal can access the operating channel for transmissionduring the shared COT period. In one embodiment, the terminal may onlysend a small amount of data during the shared COT, for example, send ameasurement report to the base station. Accordingly, the base stationcan be configured to receive transmissions from the terminal, such asmeasurement reports, during sharing COT with the terminal.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary operation flow 500 for an initiating device toaccess an operating channel according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In an embodiment, a terminal may use the operation flow inuplink, or a base station may use the operation flow in downlink. In theoperation flow 500, for at least one period in a resource configuration,CCA is performed prior to a starting point of the period. If CCA issuccessful, start to use resources at the starting point; otherwise,perform the CCA prior to each subsequent offset until the CCA issuccessful at a certain offset or all offsets are past. As shown in FIG.5, after the flow 500 starts, it is determined at 502 whether to useresources of the first period (for example, 301) based on the resourceconfiguration (for example, the configuration 300). If the determinationis yes, proceed to 504; otherwise, the flow ends. At 504, one or moreCCA is performed prior to the starting point of the first period tomonitor whether corresponding channel is occupied. At 506, it can bedetermined whether the CCA is successful according to certain criteria.If CCA is successful, proceed to 512 to access the operating channel atthe starting point; otherwise proceed to 508. At 508, one or more CCAcan be performed before the next offset to monitor whether correspondingchannel is occupied. At 510, a criterion can also be used to determinewhether the CCA is successful. If successful, proceed to 512 to accessthe operating channel at the offset; otherwise, return to 508 and repeatthe operations of 508 and 510 until the CCA is successful at a certainoffset and accesses the operating channel at the offset, or until alloffsets are past and CCA is unsuccessful, so that the resources of thefirst period are not used.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the initiating device canshare the COT obtained by itself with the responding device, so that theresources during the COT period can be used by the responding devicewhen it does not need to transmit temporarily, that is, the resourceutilization efficiency is improved. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram ofan example of sharing COT according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 6, the initiating device can obtain the MCOT 600through CCA, and start the first transmission 602 to the respondingdevice at the starting point of the MCOT. Since MCOT still has some leftafter the first transmission 602, the initiating device can transmitoperating channel authorization information to the responding devicewithin the first transmission 602 (for example, at the end of the firsttransmission 602) to allow the responding device to share MCOT (i.e.,share corresponding resources during the remaining period of MCOT).Then, the responding device can perform a second transmission 604 to theinitiating device. After sharing the MCOT with the responding device,the initiating device may still use corresponding resources of the MCOTagain. For example, if MCOT still has some left after the secondtransmission 604, the initiating device may perform a third transmission606 to the responding device. Moreover, if MCOT still has some leftafter the third transmission 606, the initiating device can still sharethe MCOT with the responding device as that in 602. In FIG. 6, eachchange of the transmission direction (initiating device to respondingdevice or responding device to initiating device) can also be referredto as a transmission direction transition. There are often gaps betweentransmissions before and after the conversion, as shown in 603 and 605.Next, a specific operation example during the transition (or gap) willbe described.

In some embodiments, after receiving the operating channel authorizationinformation, if the responding device can transmit in a first periodafter the transmission from the initiating device ends, then it candirectly use the operating channel for transmission to the initiatingdevice at any time within the first period; otherwise, if the respondingdevice wants to transmit after the first period after the transmissionfrom the initiating device ends, it has to perform CCA for the operatingchannel after the first time period, and only after CCA is successful,the operating channel can be used for transmission to the initiatingdevice. In the example of FIG. 6, the responding device performs thesecond transmission 604 only after undergoing one CCA in the gap 603,and completes the transmission direction transition. Generally, less(for example one) CCA may be undergone in the transmission directiontransition, if the amount of data to be transmitted after transition issmall (for example, control information).

In some embodiments, when the MCOT is shared with the responding deviceand the responding device has finished transmission, if the initiatingdevice can transmit in a first period after the transmission from theresponding device ends, it can directly use the operating channel fortransmission to the responding device at any time within the firstperiod; otherwise, if the initiating device wants to transmit only afterthe first period after the transmission from the responding device ends,it has to perform CCA for the operating channel after the first timeperiod, and only after CCA is successful, the operating channel can beused for transmission to the responding device. In the example of FIG.6, the initiating device performs the third transmission 606 only afterundergoing three CCA in the gap 605, and completes the transmissiondirection transition. Generally, more (for example, more than 2) CCA maybe undergone in the transmission direction transition, if the amount ofdata to be transmitted after transition is large (for example, datatraffic).

In the above embodiments, the transition after the first period requiresto perform CCA mainly for fairness considerations. That is, iftransition gap is too long, the transmission after transition will beregarded as a newly generated occupation of the channel, so CCA isrequired. In one embodiment, the length of the first period describedabove may be 16 microseconds, and each CCA may be 9 microseconds. Forexample, CCA for operating channels can correspond to one-shot ListenBefore Talk (LBT). In one embodiment, there will be multiple CCAs afterthe first period, or there can be multiple one-shot LBTs so as tocompletely fill the gaps in the transmission transition. The number ofone-shot LBTs can be related to the gap length and the capabilities ofthe initiating device or responding device.

FIG. 7A shows an exemplary operation of the initiating device in thecase of sharing COT according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In an embodiment, the initiating device may be a basestation in downlink or a terminal in uplink. After operation 700 starts,at 701, the initiating device sends an operating channel authorizationto the responding device during the COT period it has obtained. Asdescribed above, the transmission direction can be transitioned, and theresponding device can then access to the operating channel fortransmission based on the operating channel authorization. Aftertransmission of the responding device ends, at 702, the initiatingdevice may determine whether to reuse the operating channel (forexample, based on whether there is data to be sent). In the case ofreuse, at 703, the initiating device may determine whether transmissionwill be conducted in the first period (for example, 16 microseconds). Ifyes, proceed to 704. At 704, the initiating device can directly use theoperating channel for transmission. Otherwise proceed to 705. At 705,the initiating device can access the operating channel through CCA.

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary operation of a responding device in the caseof sharing COT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Inan embodiment, the responding device may be a terminal in downlink or abase station in uplink. After operation 750 starts, at 751, during theCOT of the initiating device, the responding device may receive theoperating channel authorization from the responding device. In the casethat the operating channel needs to be used, the responding device maydetermine at 752 whether transmission will be conducted in a firstperiod (for example, 16 microseconds). If yes, proceed to 753. At 753,the initiating device can directly use the operating channel fortransmission. Otherwise proceed to 754. At 754, the initiating devicecan access the operating channel through CCA.

Transport Block Transmission Scheme—Repetitive Transmission

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to improvetransmission efficiency of transport blocks, a sender (for example, abase station in downlink, a terminal in uplink) may repetitivelytransmit a single transport block. Specifically, the sender maydetermine by itself a number K of repetitive transmissions of a singletransport block, and notify a receiver of the number K of repetitivetransmissions. Then, the sender transmits K times for a single transportblock. As shown in FIG. 8A, the sender determines and repetitivelytransmits 4 times a single transport block, that is, a total of 4transmissions from 802 to 808 (wherein the dotted lines indicateadditional transmissions due to repetition), which can be close orclosely adjacent in time domain. The receiver can performs combiningprocessing on K receptions of a single transport block to decode thetransport block, thereby improving decoding success rate. The Ktransmissions of the transport block may be exactly the same, or mayhave different Redundancy Version (RV). In the latter case, the senderwill also notify the receiver of RV parameter information (the parameterinformation may be the sequence/pattern/rule of the repetition RV forthe repetitive transmissions of a single transport block), so that thereceiver can perform combining processing (for example, soft combining).

In some cases, the resources configured for the sender may be limited intime domain. For example, in licensed spectrum or non-licensed spectrum,due to large number of users, the time domain resources configured forat least some senders may be limited. For another example, innon-licensed spectrum, since base stations and terminals share thefrequency band with other devices in non-licensed spectrums such asWLAN, the sender can obtain a limited Channel Occupancy Time (COT), forexample, limited to a maximum value MCOT. In such cases, the repetitivetransmissions of a single transport block according to an embodiment cancomplete transmissions of the transport block on limited time domainresources because it is possible to complete in a short time (and thereceiver is easier to receive the transport block correctly).

In some embodiments, the number K of repetitive transmissions may bedetermined based on at least one or more of the following, that is, theChannel Occupancy Time (COT) of a sender, the charge level of a sender,or the link channel status from a sender to a receiver. For example,when there is a COT restriction, the sender can enable repetitivetransmissions; and/or, when the charge level of the sender issufficient, the sender can enable repetitive transmissions; and/or, whenthe above-mentioned link channel is not ideal, the sender can enablerepetitive transmissions.

FIG. 8A shows an example in which a sender determines and repetitivelytransmits a single transport block according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In the case of using the HARQ mechanism, these fourtransmissions 802 to 808 may correspond to multiple repetitivetransmissions of a single HARQ transmission of a single transport block.Wherein, a single HARQ transmission may be the first HARQ transmissionor subsequent retransmission of the single transport block. FIG. 8Bshows an example in which a sender determines and repetitively transmitsa single process of HARQ transmission according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In this example, the number K of repetitivetransmissions is 2. As shown in FIG. 8B, for a single transport block,the initial transmission of the transport block is first transmitted inthe HARQ process with HARQ process number (or called HARQ ID)=0.Further, since the number K of repetitive transmission is determined tobe 2, the foregoing initial transmission can be repetitively transmittedtwice (the dotted line 804 represents additional transmission due torepetition). Here, the HARQ IDs for transmitting 802 and 804 are both 0,and they can be understood as multiple instances of the HARQ processwith ID 0. The receiver can receive the value of the number K ofrepetitive transmissions by the sender and the HARQ ID valuecorresponding to each reception through signaling. The receiver candecode the reception based on the K value and the HARQ ID value.Specifically, in FIG. 8B, it may be that the sender initiates HARQretransmission due to the receiver fails to decode. HARQ retransmissionand initial transmission have the same process ID, which are both 0 inFIG. 8B; HARQ retransmission and initial transmission can bedistinguished by the flag bit (for example, through the new dataindicator in LTE and NR systems)). In the HARQ retransmission of thetransport block, the HARQ retransmission can be repetitively transmittedtwice (the dashed line 814 represents additional transmissions due torepetition). Similarly, the HARQ IDs for transmitting 812 and 814 areboth 0. Then, the receiver can similarly decode the reception based onthe K value and the HARQ ID value. HARQ retransmission can be performedmultiple times within the limitation of the maximum number ofretransmissions until the original transport block is decoded or themaximum number of retransmissions is reached.

FIG. 8C shows an example in which a sender determines and repetitivelytransmits multiple processes for HARQ transmissions according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the number K ofrepetitive transmissions is 2. The example of FIG. 8C can be understoodsimilarly to that of FIG. 8B, and will only be briefly described here.In FIG. 8C, there are two concurrent HARQ processes (HARQ IDs are 0 and1 respectively), and a sender can use these two processes to transmit,for example, a first transport block and a second transport block. Areceiver can also decode the first transport block and the secondtransport block based on the K value and the HARQ ID value. In the caseof decoding failure, HARQ retransmission can be performed separately fordifferent transport blocks.

FIG. 9A shows an exemplary electronic device for a sender according toan embodiment of the present disclosure, where the sender can beimplemented as a terminal (or base station) in various wirelesscommunication systems. The electronic device 900 shown in FIG. 9A mayinclude various units to implement various embodiments according to thepresent disclosure. In this example, the electronic device 900 mayinclude a parameter generating unit 902 and a third transceiving unit904.

In some embodiments, the parameter generation unit 902 can be configuredto generate a parameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions ofthe same transport block to be transmitted by a sender. The thirdtransceiving unit 904 can be configured to transmit the parameter K to areceiver, and to repetitively transmit at least one transport block by Ktimes.

In a case that the sender is implemented as a terminal, the parametergeneration unit 902 can be configured to generate a parameter K for thenumber of repetitive transmissions of the same transport block inuplink. The third transceiving unit 904 can be configured to transmitthe parameter K to a base station, and repetitively transmit at leastone transport block by K times.

FIG. 9B shows an exemplary electronic device for a receiver according toan embodiment of the present disclosure, where the receiver can beimplemented as a base station (or terminal) in various wirelesscommunication systems. The electronic device 950 shown in FIG. 9B mayinclude various units to implement various embodiments according to thepresent disclosure. In this example, the electronic device 950 mayinclude a parameter obtaining unit 952 and a fourth transceiving unit954.

In some embodiments, the parameter obtaining unit 952 can be configuredto receive and obtain the parameter K for the number of repetitivetransmissions of the same transport block sent by a sender from thesender. The fourth transceiving unit 954 can be configured to receive Krepetitive transmissions of at least one transport block from areceiver.

In a case that the receiver is implemented as a base station, theparameter obtaining unit 952 can be configured to receive and obtain theparameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions of the sametransport block in uplink from the terminal. The fourth transceivingunit 954 can be configured to receive K repetitive transmissions of atleast one transport block from the terminal.

The foregoing units are only logical modules divided according to thespecific functions they implement, and are not used to limit specificimplementations, for example, they can be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In actualimplementation, each of the foregoing units can be implemented as anindependent physical entity, or can also be implemented by a singleentity (for example, a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integratedcircuit, etc.). Wherein, the processing circuitries can refer to variousimplementations of a digital circuit system, an analog circuit system,or a mixed signal (combination of analog and digital) circuit systemsthat perform functions in a computing system. Processing circuitries mayinclude, for example, circuits such as integrated circuits (ICs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), parts or circuits ofindividual processor cores, entire processor cores, individualprocessors, programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), and/or systems including multiple processors.

FIG. 10A shows a first example method 1000 a for repetitive transmissionby a sender according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Inuplink, the method can be performed by a terminal; in downlink, themethod can be performed by a base station. After the method 1000 astarts, the number K of repetitive transmissions of the same transportblock in the link from a sender to a receiver can be determined at 1002,and the value of K can be sent to the receiver. At 1004, the sender canrepetitively transmit at least one transport block by K times.

FIG. 10B shows a first example method 1000 b for a receiver to receiverepetitive transmissions according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In uplink, the method can be performed by a base station; indownlink, the method can be performed by a terminal. After the method1000 b starts, a receiver can receive the number K of repetitivetransmissions of the same transport block for the sender at 1006. At1008, the receiver may receive K repetitive transmissions of at leastone transport block from the sender, and recover the at least onetransport block from the received K repetitive transmissions.

FIG. 10C shows a second example method 1050 a for repetitivetransmissions by a sender according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In uplink, the method can be performed by a terminal; indownlink, the method can be performed by a base station. For at leastone HARQ process, the sender can use the HARQ process to repetitivelytransmit a single transport block. As shown in FIG. 10C, the sender mayrepetitively transmit the HARQ initial transmission of the transportblock by K times at 1052 (for example, as multiple instances of the sameHARQ process), and determine at 1054 whether an ACK is received. If itis determined to be YES at 1054, it indicates that the transport blockhas been correctly recovered by the receiver, so it can proceed to 1058.At 1058, the sender may end the transmission of the HARQ process. If thedetermination is NO at 1054, it indicates that the transport block hasnot been correctly recovered by the receiver, so it is necessary toproceed to 1056 to repetitively transmit the next HARQ retransmission ofthe transport block by K times. After that, it can return to 1054 todetermine again whether an ACK is received. If it is determined to beYES at this time, proceed to 1058 as well; otherwise, repeat theoperation of 1056.

FIG. 10D shows a second example method 1050 b for a receiver to receiverepetitive transmissions according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In uplink, the method can be performed by a base station; indownlink, the method can be performed by a terminal. In the example ofFIG. 10D, the receiver may receive multiple repetitive transmissions ofHARQ initial transmission and/or retransmission of a single transportblock. As shown in FIG. 10D, for at least one HARQ process, at 1062, thereceiver can receive K repetitive transmissions of the HARQ initialtransmission of the transport block, and performs combining processingon the multiple receptions. At 1064, the receiver can determine whetherthe transport block was recovered correctly. If it is determined to beYES at 1064, proceed to 1068. At 1068, the receiver can feed back ACKand end the reception of the HARQ process. If the determination at 1064is NO, it needs to proceed to 1066. At 1066, the receiver can feed backNACK; next, the receiver receives K repetitive transmissions of the HARQretransmission of the transport block, and performs combiningprocessing. After that, it can return to 1064 to determine again whetherthe transport block is recovered correctly. If it is determined to beYES at this time, proceed to 1068; otherwise, repeat the operation of1066.

In some embodiments, in licensed spectrum or non-licensed spectrum, theHARQ ID in uplink may not be related to a specific resource. In thisway, the HARQ process may no longer be bound to a specific time domainposition, for example, so that time domain positions may be flexiblyconfigured or selected for HARQ processes and possible multipleinstances (for example, for above repetitive transmissions).

Table 2 to Table 4 show uplink signaling related to repetitivetransmissions of a terminal in uplink. As shown in Table 2, a“Repetition K” field indicating the number of repetitive transmissionsand a “Repetition RV” field indicating the redundancy of differentrepetitive transmissions can be added to the physical layer signaling(for example NR UCI). As shown in Table 2, 2 bits can be used torepresent the number of repetitive transmissions, and Table 3 showsexample values. As shown in Table 2, 2 bits can be used to represent therepetition RV parameters for repetitive transmissions of the sametransport block (for example, initial transmissions or retransmissionsof a transport block), and Table 4 shows an example RV sequence. Inaddition to indicating the number of repetitive transmissions and therepetition RV parameter in the NR UCI, those skilled in the art can alsosimilarly use other high-level signaling and physical layer signaling toconvey information related to repetitive transmissions to the basestation.

In some cases, a base station may also configure the number ofrepetitive transmissions for uplink. In some embodiments, since aterminal needs to determine the number of repetitive transmissions foruplink autonomously, the number of terminal determinations can alwaysoverride the number of base station configurations, or the base stationno longer configures the number of times or configures the number oftimes to a default invalid value after knowing the autonomousconfiguration of the terminal (that is, it is not adopted by theterminal).

In some cases, a base station may also configure the repetition RVparameter for repetitive transmissions of the same transport block (forexample, initial transmissions or retransmissions of the transportblock) in uplink. In these cases, a terminal may perform repetitivetransmissions based on the repetition RV parameters configured by a basestation. In some embodiments, since a terminal can generate theforegoing repetition RV parameter autonomously, the repetition RVparameter generated by the terminal can override the repetition RVparameter configured by a base station.

TABLE 2 Example of signaling format related to repetitive transmissionsBit width Fields 1 transport block 2 transport blocks AUL C-RNTI 16 16HARQ process number 4 4 Repetition RV 2 2 New data indicator 1 2 PUSCHstarting symbol 1 1 PUSCH ending symbol 1 1 Channel Occupancy Time 1 1(COT) sharing indication Repetition K 2 2

TABLE 3 Example of Repetition K field Repetition K field value Applied Kvalue 00 1 01 2 10 4 11 8

TABLE 4 Example of Repetition RV field (K > 1) Repetition RV valueApplied RV sequence value 00 {0, 2, 3, 1} 01 {0, 3, 0, 3} 10 {0, 0, 0,0} 11 reserved

Exemplary Methods

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication method for a terminal comprises: receiving resourceconfiguration information by at least one of radio resource control(RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein the resourceconfiguration information indicates allocated resources in non-licensedspectrum for uplink transmission by the terminal. The resources compriseone or more resources, and the resource configuration informationcomprises information of one or more offsets indicating positions of theone or more resources.

In one embodiment, the resources correspond to one or more periods,wherein at least one period has a starting point and an ending point,the resource configuration information further indicates one or moreoffsets relative to the starting point of the at least one period.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: performing channelclear assessment (CCA) prior to the starting point of the at least oneperiod; if the CCA is successful, the resources are used from thestarting point on; otherwise, the CCA is performed prior to each offsetuntil the CCA is successful or all offsets are past.

In one embodiment, the one or more offsets are indicated by amounts ofoffset time relative to the starting point or a particular referencetime.

In one embodiment, the ending point of the at least one period is fixed,or the ending point of the at least one period is variable.

In one embodiment, receiving resource configuration information by atleast one of RRC signaling and physical layer signaling comprises atleast one of the following: receiving information about the startingpoint, ending point and offsets of the at least one period by RRCsignaling; receiving information about the starting point, ending pointand offsets of the at least one period by physical layer signaling; orreceiving information about the starting point and the ending point ofthe at least one period by RRC signaling, and receiving informationabout the offsets of the at least one period by physical layersignaling.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving, from a BaseStation (BS), an authorization to use an operating channel during achannel occupancy time of the BS; and performing at least one of thefollowing: directly performing uplink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the BS ends; or performing CCA for the operating channel after thefirst period, and perform uplink transmission by using the operatingchannel after the CCA succeeds.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting anauthorization to use an operating channel to a Base Station (BS) duringa channel occupancy time of the terminal; and performing at least one ofthe following: directly performing uplink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the BS ends; or performing CCA for the operating channel after thefirst period, and performing uplink transmission by using the operatingchannel after the CCA succeeds.

In one embodiment, the CCA performed for the operating channelcorresponds to type 2 Listen Before Talk (LBT).

In one embodiment, if the uplink transmission after end of thetransmission from the BS is control information, the CCA corresponds toone type 2 LBT; and/or if the uplink transmission after end of thetransmission from the BS is data, the CCA corresponds to two or moretype 2 LBTs.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: performing thefollowing operations for channel access in non-licensed spectrumconfigured with Frame-Based Equipment (FBE): receiving a synchronizationsignal and/or reference signal; and/or transmitting a measurement reportto a Base Station (BS).

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication method for a base station comprises: transmitting resourceconfiguration information by at least one of radio resource control(RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein the resourceconfiguration information indicates allocated resources in non-licensedspectrum for uplink transmission by a terminal. Wherein, the resourcescomprise one or more resources, and the resource configurationinformation comprises information of one or more offsets indicatingpositions of the one or more resources.

In one embodiment, the resources correspond to one or more periods,wherein at least one period has a starting point and an ending point,the resource configuration information further indicates one or moreoffsets relative to the starting point of the at least one period.

In one embodiment, the one or more offsets are indicated by amounts ofoffset time relative to the starting point or a particular referencetime.

In one embodiment, the ending point of the at least one period is fixed,or the ending point of the at least one period is variable.

In one embodiment, transmitting resource configuration information by atleast one of RRC signaling and physical layer signaling comprises atleast one of the following: transmitting information about the startingpoint, ending point and offsets of the at least one period by RRCsignaling; transmitting information about the starting point, endingpoint and offsets of the at least one period by physical layersignaling; or transmitting information about the starting point and theending point of the at least one period by RRC signaling, andtransmitting information about the offsets of the at least one period byphysical layer signaling.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving, from theterminal, an authorization to use an operating channel during a channeloccupancy time of the terminal; and performing at least one of thefollowing: directly performing downlink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the terminal ends; or performing CCA for the operating channelafter the first period, and perform downlink transmission by using theoperating channel after the CCA succeed.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting anauthorization to use an operating channel to the terminal during achannel occupancy time of the base station; and performing at least oneof the following: directly performing downlink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the terminal ends; or performing CCA for the operating channelafter the first period, and perform downlink transmission by using theoperating channel after the CCA succeeds.

In one embodiment, the CCA performed for the operating channelcorresponds to type 2 Listen Before Talk (LBT).

In one embodiment, if the downlink transmission after the end of thetransmission from the terminal is control information, the CCAcorresponds to one type 2 LBT; and/or if the downlink transmission afterend of the transmission from the terminal is data, the CCA correspondsto two or more type 2 LBTs.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises performing the followingoperations for channel access in non-licensed spectrum configured withFrame-Based Equipment (FBE): transmitting a synchronization signalsand/or reference signal; and/or receiving a measurement report from theterminal.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication method for a terminal comprises: generating a parameter Kfor the number of repetitive transmissions of the same transport blockin uplink; transmitting the parameter K to a Base Station (BS); andrepetitively transmitting at least one transport block by K times.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: repetitivelytransmitting the at least one transport block by K times based on aRedundancy Version (RV) parameter information for repetitivetransmissions configured by the base station; or generating the RVparameter information for repetitive transmissions, transmit thegenerated RV parameter information to the base station, and repetitivelytransmit at least one transport block by K times based on the generatedRV parameter information.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises generating the parameterK based on at least one or more of: the maximum channel occupancy timeof the terminal; the charge level of the terminal; or uplink channelstatus.

In one embodiment, repetitively transmitting the at least one transportblock by K times comprises: repetitively transmitting initialtransmission of the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) of the atleast one transport block by K times; and/or repetitively transmittingat least one HARQ retransmission of the at least one transport block byK times.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises: for at least one HARQprocess of uplink transmission, selecting an HARQ ID for the at leastone HARQ process from a plurality of HARQ IDs, wherein the selected HARQID is not related to a specific resource; and transmitting the HARQ IDfor the at least one HARQ process to the base station.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication method for a base station comprises: receiving a parameterK for the number of repetitive transmissions of the same transport blockin uplink from a terminal; and receiving K repetitive transmissions ofat least one transport block from the terminal.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: decoding the Krepetitive transmissions of the at least one transport block based on aRedundancy Version (RV) parameter information for repetitivetransmissions configured by the base station; or receiving the RVparameter information from the terminal, and decode the K repetitivetransmissions of the at least one transport block based on the receivedRV parameter information.

In one embodiment, receiving K times repetitive transmissions of atleast one transport block from the terminal comprises: receiving Krepetitive transmissions of initial transmission of the Hybrid AutomaticRepeat Request (HARQ) of the at least one transport block, and decodingthe at least one transport block from the received K repetitivetransmissions; or receiving K repetitive transmissions of at least oneHARQ retransmission of the at least one transport block, and decodingthe at least one transport block from the received K transmissions andprevious transmissions.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving an HARQ ID forat least one HARQ process of uplink from the terminal, wherein the HARQID is not related to a specific resource.

The exemplary electronic devices and methods according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure are described above. It should be understood thatthe operations or functions of these electronic devices can be combinedwith each other to achieve more or less operations or functions thandescribed. The operation steps of the methods can also be combined witheach other in any appropriate order, so as to similarly achieve more orless operations than described.

It should be understood that the machine-executable instructions in themachine-readable storage medium or program product according to theembodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to performoperations corresponding to the device and method embodiments describedabove. When referring to the above device and method embodiments, theembodiments of the machine-readable storage medium or the programproduct are clear to those skilled in the art, and therefore descriptionthereof will not be repeated herein. A machine-readable storage mediaand a program product for carrying or including the above-describedmachine-executable instructions also fall within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Such storage medium can comprise, but is not limitedto, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memorycard, a memory stick, and the like.

In addition, it should also be noted that the above series of processesand devices can also be implemented by software and/or firmware. In thecase of being implemented by software and/or firmware, a programconstituting the software is installed from a storage medium or anetwork to a computer having a dedicated hardware structure, such as thegeneral-purpose personal computer 1300 shown in FIG. 11, which, when isinstalled with various programs, can execute various functions and soon. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example structure of apersonal computer which can be employed as an information processingdevice in the embodiment herein. In one example, the personal computercan correspond to the above-described exemplary terminal device inaccordance with the present disclosure.

In FIG. 11, a central processing unit (CPU) 1301 executes variousprocesses in accordance with a program stored in a read-only memory(ROM) 1302 or a program loaded from storage 1308 to a random accessmemory (RAM) 1303. In the RAM 1303, data required when the CPU 1301executes various processes and the like is also stored as needed.

The CPU 1301, the ROM 1302, and the RAM 1303 are connected to each othervia a bus 1304. Input/output interface 1305 is also connected to bus1304.

The following components are connected to the input/output interface1305: an input unit 1306 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an outputunit 1307 including a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquidcrystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; the storage 1308including a hard disk etc.; and a communication unit 1309 including anetwork interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. Thecommunication unit 1309 performs communication processing via a networksuch as the Internet.

The driver 1310 is also connected to the input/output interface 1305 asneeded. A removable medium 1311 such as a magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory or the like ismounted on the drive 1310 as needed, so that a computer program readtherefrom is installed into the storage 1308 as needed.

In the case where the above-described series of processing isimplemented by software, a program constituting the software isinstalled from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium suchas the removable medium 1311.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that such a storagemedium is not limited to the removable medium 1311 shown in FIG. 11 inwhich a program is stored and distributed separately from the device toprovide a program to the user. Examples of the removable medium 1311include a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk (registeredtrademark)), an optical disk (including a compact disk read only memory(CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk(including a mini disk (MD) (registered trademark)) and a semiconductormemory. Alternatively, the storage medium may be a ROM 1302, a hard diskincluded in the storage section 1308, or the like, in which programs arestored, and distributed to users together with the device containingthem.

The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to variousproducts. For example, the base stations mentioned in this disclosurecan be implemented as any type of evolved Node B (gNB), such as a macrogNB and a small gNB. The small gNB can be an gNB covering a cell smallerthan the macro cell, such as a pico gNB, a micro gNB, and a home (femto)gNB. Alternatively, the base station can be implemented as any othertype of base station, such as a NodeB and a Base Transceiver Station(BTS). The base station can include: a body (also referred to as a basestation device) configured to control radio communication; and one ormore remote radio heads (RRHs) disposed at a different location from thebody. In addition, various types of terminals which will be describedbelow can each operate as a base station by performing base stationfunctions temporarily or semi-persistently.

For example, the terminal device mentioned in the present disclosure,also referred to as a user device in some examples, can be implementedas a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer(PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/dongle typemobile router and digital camera) or in-vehicle terminal (such as carnavigation device). The user device may also be implemented as aterminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (alsoreferred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). Further,the user device may be a radio communication module (such as anintegrated circuit module including a single wafer) installed on each ofthe above terminals.

Hereinafter, application examples according to the present disclosurewill be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15.

Application Examples for Base Stations The First Application Example

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematicconfiguration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosurecan be applied. The gNB 1400 includes a plurality of antennas 1410 and abase station device 1420. The base station device 1420 and each antenna1410 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. In oneimplementation, the gNB 1400 (or base station device 1420) herein maycorrespond to the electronic devices 300A, 1300A, and/or 1500B describedabove.

Each of the antennas 1410 includes a single or multiple antenna elements(such as multiple antenna elements included in a Multiple Input andMultiple Output (MIMO) antenna), and is used for the base station device1420 to transmit and receive radio signals. As shown in FIG. 12, the gNB1400 may include multiple antennas 1410.

For example, multiple antennas 1410 may be compatible with multiplefrequency bands used by the gNB 1400.

The base station device 1420 includes a controller 1421, a memory 1422,a network interface 1423, and a radio communication interface 1425.

The controller 1421 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operatesvarious functions of higher layers of the base station device 1420. Forexample, controller 1421 generates data packets from data in signalsprocessed by the radio communication interface 1425, and transfers thegenerated packets via network interface 1423. The controller 1421 canbundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate the bundledpackets, and transfer the generated bundled packets. The controller 1421may have logic functions of performing control such as radio resourcecontrol, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control,and scheduling. This control may be performed in corporation with a gNBor a core network node in the vicinity. The memory 1422 includes RAM andROM, and stores a program that is executed by the controller 1421 andvarious types of control data such as a terminal list, transmissionpower data, and scheduling data.

The network interface 1423 is a communication interface for connectingthe base station device 1420 to the core network 1424. Controller 1421may communicate with a core network node or another gNB via the networkinterface 1423. In this case, the gNB 1400 and the core network node orother gNBs may be connected to each other through a logical interfacesuch as an S1 interface and an X2 interface. The network interface 1423may also be a wired communication interface or a radio communicationinterface for radio backhaul lines. If the network interface 1423 is aradio communication interface, the network interface 1423 may use ahigher frequency band for radio communication than a frequency band usedby the radio communication interface 1425.

The radio communication interface 1425 supports any cellularcommunication schemes, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced, and provides radio connection to a terminal positioned ina cell of the gNB 1400 via the antenna 1410. Radio communicationinterface 1425 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB)processor 1426 and a RF circuit 1427. The BB processor 1426 may perform,for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, andmultiplexing/demultiplexing, and performs various types of signalprocessing of layers such as L1, Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio LinkControl (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). Instead ofcontroller 1421, the BB processor 1426 may have a part or all of theabove-described logic functions. The BB processor 1426 may be a memorythat stores a communication control program, or a module that includes aprocessor configured to execute the program and a related circuit.Updating the program may allow the functions of the BB processor 1426 tobe changed. The module may be a card or a blade that is inserted into aslot of the base station device 1420. Alternatively, the module may alsobe a chip that is mounted on the card or the blade. Meanwhile, the RFcircuit 1427 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and anamplifier, and transmits and receives radio signals via the antenna1410. Although FIG. 12 shows an example in which one RF circuit 1427 isconnected to one antenna 1410, the present disclosure is not limited tothereto; rather, one RF circuit 1427 may connect to a plurality ofantennas 1410 at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 12, the radio communication interface 1425 may includethe multiple BB processors 1426. For example, the multiple BB processors1426 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 1400.As shown in FIG. 12, the radio communication interface 1425 may includethe multiple RF circuits 1427. For example, the multiple RF circuits1427 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 12shows the example in which the radio communication interface 1425includes the multiple BB processors 1426 and the multiple RF circuits1427, the radio communication interface 1425 may also include a singleBB processor 1426 or a single RF circuit 1427.

Second Application Example

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematicconfiguration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosuremay be applied. The gNB 1530 includes a plurality of antennas 1540, abase station device 1550, and an RRH 1560. The RRH 1560 and each antenna1540 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base stationdevice 1550 and the RRH 1560 may be connected to each other via a highspeed line such as a fiber optic cable. In one implementation, the gNB1530 (or base station device 1550) herein may correspond to theelectronic devices 300A, 1300A, and/or 1500B described above.

Each of the antennas 1540 includes a single or multiple antenna elementssuch as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna and is usedfor the RRH 1560 to transmit and receive radio signals. The gNB 1530 mayinclude multiple antennas 1540, as shown in FIG. 13. For example,multiple antennas 1540 may be compatible with multiple frequency bandsused by the gNB 1530.

The base station device 1550 includes a controller 1551, a memory 1552,a network interface 1553, a radio communication interface 1555, and aconnection interface 1557. The controller 1551, the memory 1552, and thenetwork interface 1553 are the same as the controller 1421, the memory1422, and the network interface 1423 described with reference to FIG.12.

The radio communication interface 1555 supports any cellularcommunication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides radiocommunication to terminals positioned in a sector corresponding to theRRH 1560 via the RRH 1560 and the antenna 1540. The radio communicationinterface 1555 may typically include, for example, a BB processor 1556.The BB processor 1556 is the same as the BB processor 1426 describedwith reference to FIG. 12, except that the BB processor 1556 isconnected to the RF circuit 1564 of the RRH 1560 via the connectioninterface 1557. The radio communication interface 1555 may include themultiple BB processors 1556, as shown in FIG. 13. For example, themultiple BB processors 1556 may be compatible with multiple frequencybands used by the gNB 1530. Although FIG. 13 shows the example in whichthe radio communication interface 1555 includes multiple BB processors1556, the radio communication interface 1555 may also include a singleBB processor 1556.

The connection interface 1557 is an interface for connecting the basestation device 1550 (radio communication interface 1555) to the RRH1560. The connection interface 1557 may also be a communication modulefor communication in the above-described high speed line that connectsthe base station device 1550 (radio communication interface 1555) to theRRH 1560.

The RRH 1560 includes a connection interface 1561 and a radiocommunication interface 1563.

The connection interface 1561 is an interface for connecting the RRH1560 (radio communication interface 1563) to the base station device1550. The connection interface 1561 may also be a communication modulefor communication in the above-described high speed line.

The radio communication interface 1563 transmits and receives radiosignals via the antenna 1540. Radio communication interface 1563 maytypically include, for example, the RF circuitry 1564. The RF circuit1564 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, andtransmits and receives radio signals via the antenna 1540. Although FIG.13 shows the example in which one RF circuit 1564 is connected to oneantenna 1540, the present disclosure is not limited to thereto; rather,one RF circuit 1564 may connect to a plurality of antennas 1540 at thesame time.

The radio communication interface 1563 may include multiple RF circuits1564, as shown in FIG. 13. For example, multiple RF circuits 1564 maysupport multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 13 shows the example inwhich the radio communication interface 1563 includes the multiple RFcircuits 1564, the radio communication interface 1563 may also include asingle RF circuit 1564.

Application Examples Related to User Devices (Terminals) The FirstApplication Example

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematicconfiguration of a smartphone 1600 to which the technology of thepresent disclosure may be applied. The smartphone 1600 includes aprocessor 1601, a memory 1602, a storage 1603, an external connectioninterface 1604, an camera 1606, a sensor 1607, a microphone 1608, aninput device 1609, a display device 1610, a speaker 1611, a radiocommunication interface 1612, one or more antenna switch 1615, one ormore antennas 1616, a bus 1617, a battery 1618, and an auxiliarycontroller 1619. In one implementation, smartphone 1600 (or processor1601) herein may correspond to terminal device 300B and/or 1500Adescribed above.

The processor 1601 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on chip (SoC),and controls functions of an application layer and the other layers ofthe smartphone 1600. The memory 1602 includes RAM and ROM, and stores aprogram that is executed by the processor 1601, and data. The storage1603 may include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and ahard disk. The external connection interface 1604 is an interface forconnecting an external device such as a memory card and a universalserial bus (USB) device to the smartphone 1600.

The camera 1606 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device(CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), andgenerates a captured image. Sensor 1607 may include a group of sensorssuch as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, andan acceleration sensor. The microphone 1608 converts the sounds that areinput to the smartphone 1600 to audio signals. The input device 1609includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect touch on ascreen of the display device 1610, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or aswitch, and receives an operation or an information input from a user.The display device 1610 includes a screen such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, anddisplays an output image of the smartphone 1600. The speaker 1611converts audio signals that are output from the smartphone 1600 tosounds.

The radio communication interface 1612 supports any cellularcommunication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs radiocommunication. The radio communication interface 1612 may typicallyinclude, for example, a BB processor 1613 and an RF circuitry 1614. TheBB processor 1613 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding,modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and performsvarious types of signal processing for radio communication. Meanwhile,the RF circuit 1614 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and anamplifier, and transmits and receives radio signals via the antenna1616. The radio communication interface 1612 may be a one-chip modulethat integrates the BB processor 1613 and the RF circuit 1614 thereon.The radio communication interface 1612 may include multiple BBprocessors 1613 and multiple RF circuits 1614, as shown in FIG. 14.Although FIG. 14 shows the example in which the radio communicationinterface 1612 includes multiple BB processors 1613 and multiple RFcircuits 1614, the radio communication interface 1612 may also include asingle BB processor 1613 or a single RF circuit 1614.

In addition, in addition to a cellular communication scheme, the radiocommunication interface 1612 may support additional type of radiocommunication schemes, such as short-range wireless communicationschemes, a near field communication schemes, and a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) scheme. In this case, the radio communication interface1612 may include the BB processor 1613 and the RF circuitry 1614 foreach radio communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 1615 switches connection destinations ofthe antenna 1616 among multiple circuits (such as circuits for differentradio communication schemes) included in the radio communicationinterface 1612.

Each of the antennas 1616 includes a single or multiple antenna elements(such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and isused for the radio communication interface 1612 to transmit and receiveradio signals. The smartphone 1600 may include multiple antennas 1616,as shown in FIG. 14. Although FIG. 14 shows the example in which thesmartphone 1600 includes multiple antennas 1616, the smartphone 1600 mayalso include a single antenna 1616.

In addition, the smartphone 1600 may include the antenna 1616 for eachradio communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1615 may beomitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1600.

The bus 1617 connects the processor 1601, the memory 1602, the storage1603, the external connection interface 1604, the camera 1606, thesensor 1607, the microphone 1608, the input device 1609, the displaydevice 1610, the speaker 1611, the radio communication interface 1612,and the auxiliary control 1619 to each other. The battery 1618 suppliespower to blocks of the smartphone 1600 shown in FIG. 14 via feederlines, which are partially shown as a dashed line in the figure. Theauxiliary controller 1619 operates a minimum necessary function of thesmartphone 1600, for example, in a sleep mode.

The Second Application Example

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematicconfiguration of a car navigation device 1720 to which the technology ofthe present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation device 1720includes a processor 1721, a memory 1722, a global positioning system(GPS) module 1724, a sensor 1725, a data interface 1726, a contentplayer 1727, a storage medium interface 1728, an input device 1729, adisplay device 1730, a speaker 1731, and a radio communication interface1733, one or more antenna switches 1736, one or more antennas 1737, anda battery 1738. In one implementation, car navigation device 1720 (orprocessor 1721) herein may correspond to terminal device 300B and/or1500A described above.

The processor 1721 may be, for example, a CPU or a SoC, and controls anavigation function and other functions of the car navigation device1720. The memory 1722 includes RAM and ROM, and stores a program that isexecuted by the processor 1721, and data.

The GPS module 1724 uses GPS signals received from a GPS satellite tomeasure a position, such as latitude, longitude, and altitude, of thecar navigation device 1720. Sensor 1725 may include a group of sensorssuch as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor.The data interface 1726 is connected to, for example, an in-vehiclenetwork 1741 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated bythe vehicle, such as vehicle speed data.

The content player 1727 reproduces content stored in a storage medium(such as a CD and a DVD) that is inserted into the storage mediuminterface 1728. The input device 1729 includes, for example, a touchsensor configured to detect touch on a screen of the display device1730, a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or an informationinput from a user. The display device 1730 includes a screen such as anLCD or an OLED display, and displays an image of the navigation functionor content that is reproduced. The speaker 1731 outputs sounds of thenavigation function or the content that is reproduced.

The radio communication interface 1733 supports any cellularcommunication scheme, such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs radiocommunication. The radio communication interface 1733 may typicallyinclude, for example, a BB processor 1734 and an RF circuit 1735. The BBprocessor 1734 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding,modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and performsvarious types of signal processing for radio communication. Meanwhile,the RF circuit 1735 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and anamplifier, and transmits and receives radio signals via the antenna1737. The radio communication interface 1733 may also be a one-chipmodule which integrates the BB processor 1734 and the RF circuit 1735thereon. The radio communication interface 1733 may include multiple BBprocessors 1734 and multiple RF circuits 1735, as shown in FIG. 15.Although FIG. 15 shows the example in which the radio communicationinterface 1733 includes multiple BB processors 1734 and multiple RFcircuits 1735, the radio communication interface 1733 may also include asingle BB processor 1734 or a single RF circuit 1735.

Furthermore, in addition to a cellular communication scheme, the radiocommunication interface 1733 may support another type of radiocommunication scheme such as a short-range wireless communicationscheme, a near-field communication scheme, and a wireless LAN scheme. Inthis case, the radio communication interface 1733 may include the BBprocessor 1734 and the RF circuit 1735 for each radio communicationscheme.

Each of the antenna switches 1736 switches the connection destination ofthe antenna 1737 among multiple circuits (such as circuits for differentradio communication schemes) included in the radio communicationinterface 1733.

Each of the antennas 1737 includes a single or multiple antennaelements, such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna,and is used for the radio communication interface 1733 to transmit andreceive radio signals. The car navigation device 1720 may includemultiple antennas 1737, as shown in FIG. 15. Although FIG. 15 shows theexample in which the car navigation device 1720 includes multipleantennas 1737, the car navigation device 1720 may also include a singleantenna 1737.

In addition, the car navigation device 1720 may include the antenna 1737for each radio communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch1736 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device1720.

The battery 1738 supplies power to blocks of the car navigation device1720 shown in FIG. 15 via feeder lines that are partially shown asdashed lines in the figure. Battery 1738 accumulates power supplied fromthe vehicle.

The technology of the present disclosure may also be realized as anin-vehicle system (or vehicle) 1740 including one or more blocks of thecar navigation device 1720, the in-vehicle network 1741, and the vehiclemodule 1742. The vehicle module 1742 generates vehicle data such asvehicle speed, engine speed, and faults information, and outputs thegenerated data to the in-vehicle network 1741.

Although the illustrative embodiments herein have been described withreference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure iscertainly not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the artcan achieve various adaptations and modifications within the scope ofthe appended claims, and it will be appreciated that these adaptationsand modifications certainly fall into the scope of the technology of thepresent disclosure.

For example, in the above embodiments, the multiple functions includedin one module can be implemented by separate means. Alternatively, inthe above embodiments, the multiple functions included in multiplemodules can be implemented by separate means, respectively. Inadditions, one of the above functions can be implemented by multipleunits. Needless to say, such configurations are included in the scope ofthe technology of the present disclosure.

In this specification, the steps described in the flowcharts include notonly the processes performed sequentially in chronological order, butalso the processes performed in parallel or separately but notnecessarily performed in chronological order. Furthermore, even in thesteps performed in chronological order, needless to say, the order canbe changed appropriately.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can beimplemented in the manner described in the following clauses:

Clause 1. An electronic device for a terminal in a wirelesscommunication system, comprising a processing circuitry configured to:

receive resource configuration information by at least one of radioresource control (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, whereinthe resource configuration information indicates allocated resources innon-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission by the terminal, and

wherein the resources comprise one or more resources, and the resourceconfiguration information comprises information of one or more offsetsindicating positions of the one or more resources.

Clause 2. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the resourcescorrespond to one or more periods, wherein at least one period has astarting point and an ending point, the resource configurationinformation further indicates one or more offsets relative to thestarting point of the at least one period, and the processing circuitryis further configured to:

perform channel clear assessment (CCA) prior to the starting point ofthe at least one period; and

if the CCA is successful, the resources are used from the starting pointon; otherwise, the CCA is performed prior to each offset until the CCAis successful or all offsets are past.

Clause 3. The electronic device of clause 2, wherein the one or moreoffsets are indicated by amounts of offset time relative to the startingpoint or a particular reference time.

Clause 4. The electronic device of clause 3, wherein the ending point ofthe at least one period is fixed, or the ending point of the at leastone period is variable.

Clause 5. The electronic device of clause 3, wherein receiving resourceconfiguration information by at least one of RRC signaling and physicallayer signaling comprises at least one of the following:

receiving information about the starting point, ending point and offsetsof the at least one period by RRC signaling;

receiving information about the starting point, ending point and offsetsof the at least one period by physical layer signaling; or

receiving information about the starting point and the ending point ofthe at least one period by RRC signaling, and receiving informationabout the offsets of the at least one period by physical layersignaling.

Clause 6. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

receive, from a Base Station (BS), an authorization to use an operatingchannel during a channel occupancy time of the BS; and

perform at least one of the following:

directly perform uplink transmission by using the operating channel atany time in a first period after the transmission from the BS ends; or

perform CCA for the operating channel after the first period, andperform uplink transmission by using the operating channel after the CCAsucceeds.

Clause 7. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

transmit an authorization to use an operating channel to a Base Station(BS) during a channel occupancy time of the terminal; and

perform at least one of the following:

directly perform uplink transmission by using the operating channel atany time in a first period after the transmission from the BS ends; or

perform CCA for the operating channel after the first period, andperform uplink transmission by using the operating channel after the CCAsucceeds.

Clause 8. The electronic device of clause 6 or clause 7, wherein the CCAperformed for the operating channel corresponds to type 2 Listen BeforeTalk (LBT).

Clause 9. The electronic device of clause 8, wherein if the uplinktransmission after end of the transmission from the BS is controlinformation, the CCA corresponds to one type 2 LBT; and/or

if the uplink transmission after end of the transmission from the BS isdata, the CCA corresponds to two or more type 2 LBTs.

Clause 10. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to perform the following operations forchannel access in non-licensed spectrum configured with Frame-BasedEquipment (FBE):

receive a synchronization signal and/or reference signal; and/or

transmit a measurement report to a Base Station (BS).

Clause 11. An electronic device for a base station in a wirelesscommunication system, comprising a processing circuitry configured to:

transmit resource configuration information by at least one of radioresource control (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, whereinthe resource configuration information indicates allocated resources innon-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission by a terminal,

wherein the resources comprise one or more resources, and the resourceconfiguration information comprises information of one or more offsetsindicating positions of the one or more resources.

Clause 12. The electronic device of clause 11, wherein the resourcescorrespond to one or more periods, wherein at least one period has astarting point and an ending point, the resource configurationinformation further indicates one or more offsets relative to thestarting point of the at least one period, and the one or more offsetsare indicated by amounts of offset time relative to the starting pointor a particular reference time.

Clause 13. The electronic device of clause 12, wherein the ending pointof the at least one period is fixed, or the ending point of the at leastone period is variable.

Clause 14. The electronic device of clause 12, wherein transmittingresource configuration information by at least one of RRC signaling andphysical layer signaling comprises at least one of the following:

transmitting information about the starting point, ending point andoffsets of the at least one period by RRC signaling;

transmitting information about the starting point, ending point andoffsets of the at least one period by physical layer signaling; ortransmitting information about the starting point and the ending pointof the at least one period by RRC signaling, and transmittinginformation about the offsets of the at least one period by physicallayer signaling.

Clause 15. The electronic device of clause 11, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

receive, from the terminal, an authorization to use an operating channelduring a channel occupancy time of the terminal; and

perform at least one of the following:

directly perform downlink transmission by using the operating channel atany time in a first period after the transmission from the terminalends; or

perform CCA for the operating channel after the first period, andperform downlink transmission by using the operating channel after theCCA succeed.

Clause 16. The electronic device of clause 11, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

transmit an authorization to use an operating channel to the terminalduring a channel occupancy time of the base station; and

perform at least one of the following:

directly perform downlink transmission by using the operating channel atany time in a first period after the transmission from the terminalends; or perform CCA for the operating channel after the first period,and perform downlink transmission by using the operating channel afterthe CCA succeeds.

Clause 17. The electronic device of clause 15 or clause 16, wherein theCCA performed for the operating channel corresponds to type 2 ListenBefore Talk (LBT).

Clause 18. The electronic device of clause 17, wherein if the downlinktransmission after the end of the transmission from the terminal iscontrol information, the CCA corresponds to one type 2 LBT; and/or

if the downlink transmission after end of the transmission from theterminal is data, the CCA corresponds to two or more type 2 LBTs.

Clause 19. The electronic device of clause 11, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to perform the following operations forchannel access in non-licensed spectrum configured with Frame-BasedEquipment (FBE):

transmit a synchronization signals and/or reference signal; and/or

receive a measurement report from the terminal.

Clause 20. An electronic device for a terminal in a wirelesscommunication system, comprising a processing circuitry configured to:

generate a parameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions of thesame transport block in uplink;

transmit the parameter K to a Base Station (BS); and

repetitively transmit at least one transport block by K times.

Clause 21. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

repetitively transmit the at least one transport block by K times basedon a Redundancy Version (RV) parameter information for repetitivetransmissions configured by the base station; or

generate the RV parameter information for repetitive transmissions,transmit the generated RV parameter information to the base station, andrepetitively transmit at least one transport block by K times based onthe generated RV parameter information.

Clause 22. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to generate the parameter K based on atleast one or more of:

the maximum channel occupancy time of the terminal;

the charge level of the terminal; or

uplink channel status.

Clause 23. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein repetitivelytransmitting the at least one transport block by K times comprises:

repetitively transmitting initial transmission of the Hybrid AutomaticRepeat Request (HARQ) of the at least one transport block by K times;and/or

repetitively transmitting at least one HARQ retransmission of the atleast one transport block by K times.

Clause 24. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

for at least one HARQ process of uplink transmission, select an HARQ IDfor the at least one HARQ process from a plurality of HARQ IDs, whereinthe selected HARQ ID is not related to a specific resource; and

transmit the HARQ ID for the at least one HARQ process to the basestation.

Clause 25. An electronic device for a base station in a wirelesscommunication system, comprising a processing circuitry configured to:

receive a parameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions of thesame transport block in uplink from a terminal; and

receive K repetitive transmissions of at least one transport block fromthe terminal.

Clause 26. The electronic device of clause 25, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

decode the K repetitive transmissions of the at least one transportblock based on a Redundancy Version (RV) parameter information forrepetitive transmissions configured by the base station; or

receive the RV parameter information from the terminal, and decode the Krepetitive transmissions of the at least one transport block based onthe received RV parameter information.

Clause 27. The electronic device of clause 25, wherein receiving K timesrepetitive transmissions of at least one transport block from theterminal comprises:

receiving K repetitive transmissions of initial transmission of theHybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) of the at least one transportblock, and decoding the at least one transport block from the received Krepetitive transmissions; or

receiving K repetitive transmissions of at least one HARQ retransmissionof the at least one transport block, and decoding the at least onetransport block from the received K transmissions and previoustransmissions.

Clause 28. The electronic device of clause 25, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to:

receive an HARQ ID for at least one HARQ process of uplink from theterminal,

wherein the HARQ ID is not related to a specific resource.

Clause 29. A wireless communication method for a terminal, comprising:

receiving resource configuration information by at least one of radioresource control (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, whereinthe resource configuration information indicates allocated resources innon-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission by the terminal, and

wherein the resources comprise one or more resources, and the resourceconfiguration information comprises information of one or more offsetsindicating positions of the one or more resources.

Clause 30. A wireless communication method for a base station,comprising:

transmit resource configuration information by at least one of radioresource control (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, whereinthe resource configuration information indicates allocated resources innon-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission by a terminal,

wherein the resources comprise one or more resources, and the resourceconfiguration information comprises information of one or more offsetsindicating positions of the one or more resources.

Clause 31. A wireless communication method for a terminal, comprising:

generate a parameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions of thesame transport block in uplink;

transmit the parameter K to a Base Station (BS); and

repetitively transmit at least one transport block by K times.

Clause 32. A wireless communication method for a base station,comprising:

receive a parameter K for the number of repetitive transmissions of thesame transport block in uplink from a terminal; and

receive K repetitive transmissions of at least one transport block fromthe terminal.

Clause 33. A computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreinstructions that, when executed by one or more processors of anelectronic device, cause the electronic device to execute the methods asdescribed in clauses 29 to 32.

Clause 34. An apparatus for a wireless communication system, comprisinga unit for performing the methods as described in clauses 29 to 32.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been describedin detail, it will be appreciated that various changes, replacements andtransformations can be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Inaddition, the terms “include”, “comprise” or any other variants of theembodiments herein are intended to be non-exclusive inclusion, such thatthe process, method, article or device including a series of elementsincludes not only these elements, but also those that are not listedspecifically, or those that are inherent to the process, method, articleor device. In case of further limitations, the element defined by thesentence “include one” does not exclude the presence of additional sameelements in the process, method, article or device including thiselement.

1. An electronic device for a terminal in a wireless communicationsystem, comprising a processing circuitry configured to: receiveresource configuration information by at least one of radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling and physical layer signaling, wherein theresource configuration information indicates allocated resources innon-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission by the terminal, andwherein the resources comprise one or more resources, and the resourceconfiguration information comprises information of one or more offsetsindicating positions of the one or more resources.
 2. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the resources correspond to one or moreperiods, wherein at least one period has a starting point and an endingpoint, the resource configuration information further indicates one ormore offsets relative to the starting point of the at least one period,and the processing circuitry is further configured to: perform channelclear assessment (CCA) prior to the starting point of the at least oneperiod; and if the CCA is successful, the resources are used from thestarting point on; otherwise, the CCA is performed prior to each offsetuntil the CCA is successful or all offsets are past.
 3. The electronicdevice of claim 2, wherein the one or more offsets are indicated byamounts of offset time relative to the starting point or a particularreference time; and or wherein the ending point of the at least oneperiod is fixed, or the ending point of the at least one period isvariable.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The electronic device of claim 3, whereinreceiving resource configuration information by at least one of RRCsignaling and physical layer signaling comprises at least one of thefollowing: receiving information about the starting point, ending pointand offsets of the at least one period by RRC signaling; receivinginformation about the starting point, ending point and offsets of the atleast one period by physical layer signaling; or receiving informationabout the starting point and the ending point of the at least one periodby RRC signaling, and receiving information about the offsets of the atleast one period by physical layer signaling.
 6. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:receive, from a Base Station (BS), an authorization to use an operatingchannel during a channel occupancy time of the BS; and perform at leastone of the following: directly perform uplink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the BS ends; or perform CCA for the operating channel after thefirst period, and perform uplink transmission by using the operatingchannel after the CCA succeeds.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: transmit anauthorization to use an operating channel to a Base Station (BS) duringa channel occupancy time of the terminal; and perform at least one ofthe following: directly perform uplink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the BS ends; or perform CCA for the operating channel after thefirst period, and perform uplink transmission by using the operatingchannel after the CCA succeeds.
 8. The electronic device of claim 6,wherein the CCA performed for the operating channel corresponds to type2 Listen Before Talk (LBT).
 9. The electronic device of claim 8, whereinif the uplink transmission after end of the transmission from the BS iscontrol information, the CCA corresponds to one type 2 LBT; and/or ifthe uplink transmission after end of the transmission from the BS isdata, the CCA corresponds to two or more type 2 LBTs.
 10. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to perform the following operations for channel access innon-licensed spectrum configured with Frame-Based Equipment (FBE):receive a synchronization signal and/or reference signal; and/ortransmit a measurement report to a Base Station (BS).
 11. An electronicdevice for a base station in a wireless communication system, comprisinga processing circuitry configured to: transmit resource configurationinformation by at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signalingand physical layer signaling, wherein the resource configurationinformation indicates allocated resources in non-licensed spectrum foruplink transmission by a terminal, wherein the resources comprise one ormore resources, and the resource configuration information comprisesinformation of one or more offsets indicating positions of the one ormore resources.
 12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein theresources correspond to one or more periods, wherein at least one periodhas a starting point and an ending point, the resource configurationinformation further indicates one or more offsets relative to thestarting point of the at least one period, and the one or more offsetsare indicated by amounts of offset time relative to the starting pointor a particular reference time; and/or wherein the ending point of theat least one period is fixed, or the ending point of the at least oneperiod is variable.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The electronic device of claim12, wherein transmitting resource configuration information by at leastone of RRC signaling and physical layer signaling comprises at least oneof the following: transmitting information about the starting point,ending point and offsets of the at least one period by RRC signaling;transmitting information about the starting point, ending point andoffsets of the at least one period by physical layer signaling; ortransmitting information about the starting point and the ending pointof the at least one period by RRC signaling, and transmittinginformation about the offsets of the at least one period by physicallayer signaling.
 15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: receive, from theterminal, an authorization to use an operating channel during a channeloccupancy time of the terminal; and perform at least one of thefollowing: directly perform downlink transmission by using the operatingchannel at any time in a first period after the transmission from theterminal ends; or perform CCA for the operating channel after the firstperiod, and perform downlink transmission by using the operating channelafter the CCA succeed.
 16. The electronic device of claim 11, whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to: transmit anauthorization to use an operating channel to the terminal during achannel occupancy time of the base station; and perform at least one ofthe following: directly perform downlink transmission by using theoperating channel at any time in a first period after the transmissionfrom the terminal ends; or perform CCA for the operating channel afterthe first period, and perform downlink transmission by using theoperating channel after the CCA succeeds.
 17. The electronic device ofclaim 15, wherein the CCA performed for the operating channelcorresponds to type 2 Listen Before Talk (LBT).
 18. The electronicdevice of claim 17, wherein if the downlink transmission after the endof the transmission from the terminal is control information, the CCAcorresponds to one type 2 LBT; and/or if the downlink transmission afterend of the transmission from the terminal is data, the CCA correspondsto two or more type 2 LBTs.
 19. The electronic device of claim 11,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to perform thefollowing operations for channel access in non-licensed spectrumconfigured with Frame-Based Equipment (FBE): transmit a synchronizationsignals and/or reference signal; and/or receive a measurement reportfrom the terminal. 20.-28. (canceled)
 29. A wireless communicationmethod for a terminal, comprising: receiving resource configurationinformation by at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signalingand physical layer signaling, wherein the resource configurationinformation indicates allocated resources in non-licensed spectrum foruplink transmission by the terminal, and wherein the resources compriseone or more resources, and the resource configuration informationcomprises information of one or more offsets indicating positions of theone or more resources.
 30. A wireless communication method for a basestation, comprising: transmit resource configuration information by atleast one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling and physical layersignaling, wherein the resource configuration information indicatesallocated resources in non-licensed spectrum for uplink transmission bya terminal, wherein the resources comprise one or more resources, andthe resource configuration information comprises information of one ormore offsets indicating positions of the one or more resources. 31.-32.(canceled)
 33. A computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreinstructions that, when executed by one or more processors of anelectronic device, cause the electronic device to execute the method ofclaim
 29. 34. (canceled)